BOSTON, Nov. 12, 2014—A Dorchester man was arraigned on firearms charges today after a concerned family member discovered a loaded gun in the family home and alerted Boston Police, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DEXTER SPINOLA (D.O.B. 8/28/69) was arraigned this morning in Dorchester Municipal Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.  Assistant District Attorney William Kettlewell requested bail of $20,000 and orders that Spinola wear a GPS monitor, abide by a curfew, and stay away from the Claybourne Street residence where the firearm was found in the event he is released on bail.  Judge Debra DelVecchio imposed $9,000 bail and all of the requested conditions.

Prosecutors also requested that Spinola’s bail on an open 2013 firearm case be revoked; DelVecchio declined to do so. Prosecutors asked for $150,000 cash bail in that case. A municipal court judge set it at $15,000 and a Superior Court judge later reduced that amount at the defendant’s request.

In the new case, a relative of Spinola contacted Boston Police on Saturday to report finding a firearm upon entering Spinola’s room in the family home the previous day, prosecutors told the court.  When asked about the gun, Spinola allegedly told the family member that it had been placed in the house by a friend because the friend was drunk, prosecutors said.

The relative presented officers with a plastic bag containing an Interarms .40 cal semi-automatic handgun. It was loaded with seven live rounds of ammunition in the magazine and had an obliterated serial number, prosecutors said, and officers obtained a warrant charging Spinola with possessing it. At that time, Spinola was already charged with possessing another firearm after Boston Police recovered a stolen 9mm handgun in the area where they crashed a car on Eldon Street on the morning of May 25, 2013.

“This may have been a difficult decision for a family member to make, but it could have been much, much worse,” Conley said. “If that weapon were used to hurt someone, the choice to remain silent could have cost someone’s life – maybe even the defendant’s.”

Spinola was represented by Kelly Cusack.  He will return to court Dec. 5.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.